TREATMENTS & DRUGS

Medications are used in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to modify the disease course, treat relapses - also called attacks or exacerbations - and manage symptoms. Along with the other essential components of comprehensive MS care, these medications can help people manage their MS and enhance their comfort and quality of life.

lifestyle

There is no getting around it. MS is a life changer for the patient and the patient’s family, friends, co-workers--inner circle. There is no cure. However, once diagnosed, the available therapies and drugs can treat many of the otherwise debilitating symptoms, can slow the progression of the disease and in many cases provide for a reasonably normal quality of life.

All procedures required by a study are paid for by that study’s sponsor.

Sponsors are the pharmaceutical companies or the government entities that fund the studies.

The duration of our studies can run in length anywhere from three months to five years, depending on the study design and objectives. The majority of the clinical trials at our center last two to three years.

RESEARCH AT MSCA:

Our research department works with Dr. English and all of our physicians to make sure you understand what will be expected of you and what you can expect from us, if you become our patient. We work for the doctors, not the pharmaceutical companies and it is our goal to provide you responsible, responsive care. Our department strives to provide a “one-stop shopping” approach for our patients. In other words, our department schedules research appointments and all MRI’s required for studies. If there are services required by a study that we do not provide, we have several medical offices that collaborate with us to provide these extra services.

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.

clinical trials

Research is the final step toward better disease control and finding the eventual cure. The MSCA is committed to continued participation in clinical MS and neurological research.

With 15 years experience in opening and developing a successful clinical research department, Dr. William H. Stuart founded the MS Center of Atlanta Clinical Research Department, in April 2001. In 2004, Dr. Stuart appointed Dr. Jeffrey English as MSCA research medical director.

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org(404)351-0205 x111

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.

OTHER SOURCES:

For a comprehensive overview of all that is involved in clinical research go to the U.S. government website www.clinicaltrials.gov. This website is a service of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and can provide answers to frequently asked questions such as:

• What is a clinical trial?

• Why participate in a clinical trial?

• What happens during a clinical trial?

• What should people consider before participating in a trial?

UNDERSTANDINGCLINICAL TRIALS

OUR HISTORY:

The physicians of the MSCA were instrumental in bringing clinical and therapeutic Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research trials to the Atlanta area. As research clinicians and principal investigators, they have participated in more than 50 major clinical trials. Successful clinical research represents the extension of discoveries in the basic science of medicine. Research is the final step toward better disease control and finding the eventual cure.

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.

OPEN STUDIES:

Dr. English chooses studies he perceives to have both scientific merit and true benefit to our patients. He chooses studies believed to have new treatment mechanisms or use different drugs in a new way. For example, of the many oral medications under investigation for MS, Dr. English chooses the ones he thinks have the best chance of becoming a new treatment option. Aside from oral medications, we are also studying new intravenous (IV) therapies, new injection therapies, and several drugs used in combination to treat the same disease. Dr. English also selects studies he feels offer hope to families with conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease who, previously, had been afforded few treatment options.

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org(404) 351-0205 x111

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.

OUR GOALS

The clinical research department has four full-time employees who run our clinical trials. We began as a department that specialized in drug trials for Multiple Sclerosis. However, since opening, we have expanded our capabilities to include other major neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Epilepsy, Torticollis and Spasticity, with plans to expand.

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.

PARTNERSHIPS

If you would like to be entered in our database please email us at:

research@mscatl.org

Please provide your name, address, phone numbers and a note stating that you would like to be added to our list.